


Quitter

by MeloAnnechen



Category: Get Your Man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Class of 1995, Established Relationship, M/M, Not Quite Vintage, Smoking Cessation, Uniforms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 18:56:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4315989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeloAnnechen/pseuds/MeloAnnechen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is set in 2003, on the occasion of Charles being welcomed into his first practice after receiving his medical degree. Charles still smokes, a habit he kept during the stress of university and medical school. Francis would like for him to stop.</p>
<p>He finds a novel form of positive reinforcement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quitter

Charles sighed as Francis put away the last of the dinner dishes, reached for his pack of cigarettes. At the snick of the flint wheel, he was suddenly attacked. Francis dropped the cigarette and lighter on the counter, before kissing the daylights out of Charles.

When they came up for air, Charles chuckled, “Not that I’m complaining, but what’s the occasion?”

Francis held his gaze, with a serious expression, “I’d like for you to quit smoking,” he said.

“Hey, I’m not as bad as I was in my internship, I have cut back,” he began, but Francis cut him off with another deep kiss.

Breathlessly, Francis whispered against his lips, “Good. Maybe I should give you something else to do with your mouth instead to help?”

“Gotta say, this is an excellent method,” Charles murmured back. “I applaud your use of positive reinforcement.”

~~~~~

Truth be told, it was easier to cut back, now that he was out of the pressure cooker called medical school. Besides, with every passing year, there were fewer places he _could_ smoke.

The office was not one of them, but there was a picnic shelter across the parking lot, close enough to make a quick break possible. The office manager had just warned him to not leave cigarette butts around. That was no problem; years of hanging around with Francis had gotten him in the habit of pocketing his butts and confirming the ember on the ground was _out_.

Head of staff, Dr Johnston, had only one other request, “If you could limit your smoking around the children and young adults, that would be a help with the healthy habits program.”

“Better that they don’t start,” Charles nodded. 

When he got in his car that evening, he noticed the carton he had bought at the beginning of the month still had half the packs left. “Almost down to a pack a week, that’s not bad,” he murmured to himself. 

He also had most of that first pack he had taken into their new apartment, placed in the _still_ clean ashtray on the kitchen counter. Francis had not thrown them out. When Charles had asked about it, he smiled, “I’m leaving that up to you,” and tackled the doctor onto the couch, snogging him senseless.

He had not yet smoked in the apartment, and it looked like he might not get the chance.

Considering what he was getting in return, Charles thought it was an excellent trade.

~~~~~

Two weeks after moving to town and settling into the schedule of the new job, Charles got the invitation to his welcome dinner. By this time, half the staff had already met Francis, and the rest knew about him. It had been addressed to both of them, instead of to Charles and a vague “plus one”, which eased his mind about how his co-workers saw his relationship.

The practice had reserved the local steakhouse’s private dining room for the welcoming dinner, but several of the employees had arrived early for a few drinks in the bar. It was just habit that had Charles reaching for his pack after the first sip of his drink. 

He had barely touched the flame to the tip of the cigarette when Francis gently plucked the lighter from his fingers, stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray, then dipped Charles with a very thorough and comprehensive kiss, to the catcalls and wolf-whistles of everyone in the bar.

This was definitely a shocker, because when he was in uniform, especially the red serge, Francis rarely indulged in overt public displays of affection. But tonight, Charles got the sort of kiss Francis usually reserved for a prelude to acts that would get them _arrested_ in a public place.

When he finally caught his breath afterwards, Charles dazedly murmured, "You are _serious_ about this."

Francis, trying to maintain a modicum of calm through his blushing, quietly answered, "I told you I am. When I said I wanted to keep you healthy for a long, long time, it was not a joke."

“You mean to tell me he’s not supposed to be smoking?” the head nurse scowled at the young doctor. Charles did not notice, as he was still watching Francis’s face with a dazed smile.

“I have requested it, but it is still up to him to quit,” Francis kept his eyes on Charles’s, with a shy smile, “I hope to keep him around for many years.”

Mrs Donovan chuckled as she asked, "So, when's the road trip to Ontario?"

Charles gave a lazy smile at the sudden return of Francis’s blush, “I think that may be something we need to plan later.”

**Author's Note:**

> Manitoba banned smoking in all workplaces and enclosed public spaces on October 1, 2004. 
> 
> Manitoba became the fifth jurisdiction in Canada to legalize same-sex marriage on September 16, 2004, after the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, and Yukon Territory.


End file.
